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 Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1997. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Thai Religion Practices Piercing
The Associated Press; 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020 - Friday, October 10, 1997; 5:23 a.m. EDT
Ellen Teper Lochaya
PHUKET, Thailand
(AP) -- His face a mask of otherworldly repose, the teen-age disciple
didn't bat an eye when the temple elder held his mouth open and pierced
his cheek with a 3-foot-long steel spike, like a needle punching
through cloth. Dripping blood from the wound in his face, the
teen-ager -- along with scores of others like him -- marched down the
streets of Phuket, spurred by the din of Chinese music, firecrackers
and cheers from a crowd that occasionally wiped his face clean and
stuck money on the spike. "When I'm pierced, I don't feel anything," Udom Than said. "I'm possessed."
Once a year, Phuket changes from Thailand's best-known tropical island
into a stage for one of the world's most bizarre rituals of
self-mortification -- oddly known as the Vegetarian Festival.
Across Thailand, the festival is traditionally celebrated in the ninth
lunar month of the Chinese year, ending today. During that time, many
of Thailand's 6 million or so ethnic Chinese will refrain from eating
meat. But on Phuket, a beach paradise on the Andaman Sea, 430
miles south of Bangkok, the festival takes a masochistic turn, drawing
large crowds of spectators at the slowest part of the tourist season.
For teen-age disciples, the festival is a rite of toughness. But older
men and some women, motivated chiefly by prestige and tradition, make
up the largest number of participants. All participants abstain from
meat, alcohol and sex for nine days before the piercing. "The
body piercing, I think, is getting out of hand," said a temple elder,
speaking on condition of anonymity. "It's become a big tourist
attraction, with more and more youngsters getting involved each year,
sort of a macho thing." Devotees gather at several temples
honoring Chinese gods and spirits then undergo a series of purification
rituals that, after several days, culminate in a trance. They
roll back their eyes, shake their heads, dance -- whatever it takes to
block out the pain -- then pierce their bodies in an ultimate
expression of religious devotion. Most put a single steel rod
ranging in width from a quarter-inch to an inch, through one cheek. The
more experienced or daring might put four through their cheeks at
crazily crossed angles, another through the skin of their necks, and
maybe one or two more through their arms. Others choose more
bizarre objects to pierce their bodies: a samurai sword, an umbrella, a
small tree, a sailfish, a musket, a lamp -- one year, even the kitchen
sink, with the faucet plunged through the cheek and the basin carried
by a helper. This year, a man sprayed blood down his chest as
he ripped his tongue on a logging saw. Most marchers don't bleed much,
though -- until the pierced objects are withdrawn, uncorking their
wounds. Though they are rarely needed, ambulances stand by to
transport those overcome by shock to the hospital. Apart from soreness,
little real damage is done. Some spectators along the parade
route sometimes offer tea to the marchers. But it's more symbolic than
helpful, since most can't swallow well with a mouth full of steel.
Phuket health authorities have advised the temples to take precautions
-- such as not sharing spikes and wearing rubber gloves when handling
them -- against the blood-borne HIV virus that causes AIDS.
The Phuket version of the festival has its roots in the discovery of
tin on the island about 160 years ago and the ensuing arrival of
Chinese laborers to work the mines. An epidemic swept the island at the
same time a Chinese opera troupe was touring to entertain the workers.
One performer suggested the Chinese were victimized by the scourge
because they had failed to observe traditions, including the festival.
Thereafter, the occasion was marked with unusual fervency and
eventually, acts of self-mortification crept into the observance.
At the start of the festival, worshippers deposit fruit and incense at
the temples. Each temple also sponsors a parade, which is preceded the
night before by men and women reputedly becoming possessed by the gods
and speaking in ancient Chinese. Some walk on hot coals, others climb
blade ladders. The next day, they pierce themselves and march.
"It's the faith -- faith in the gods here," one disciple, who gave his
name only as Thisan, said before adding: "Sorry, that's enough now --
it hurts." Copyright 1997/The Associated Press. Reproduced
with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for
personal reference) must be cleared through the Permissions Desk, The
Associated Press, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020.
971010
AP971003
Copyright © 1997 - Associated Press. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the AP Permissions Desk.
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